Review: Bored to Death

All jokes in Bored to Death fit perfectly natural in all scenes, without leaving the viewers feeling they are pretentious or lifeless. Quite the contrary, the three main characters and the dialogues are delicious and hilarious. It has original jokes about famous writers such as Proust, Henry Miller or Charles Bukowski, on actors like Klaus Kinski, as well as directors like Jim Jarmusch. There's nothing not to like about Bored To Death.

The action takes place in Brooklyn, New York City and follows the adventures of Jonathan Ames, or lack of them. Jonathan, played by Jason Schwartzman, is a writer still in the process of defining himself and who decides to live a double life as a private investigator. Besides his escapades as a detective, Ames spends his time with his two friends, George and Ray. George (Ted Danson) is over 60 year old, and he's an editor at the Edition magazine. He loves parties and considers himself a classic liberalist. Ray, played by Zach Galifianakis, is a comic cartoonist. The superhero of Ray's comics is a character whose weapon and superpower is his penis. Ray is a little bit crazy, and his girlfriend, Leah, believes that he should do something about it. Leah is played by actress Heather Burns.

The show is remarkably well written and directed; the actors are properly chosen for their parts; the situations that the characters find themselves in throughout the series are quite diverse. With each episode, you'll most likely find yourself carried away by the fascinating atmosphere. Bored To Death has an intelligent script, subtle lines, unconventional humor, and the characters are carefully nuanced by the talented actors in the cast, and also by the locations and sets, by the small details.

Verdict:

Bored to Death is well written and directed, has a gentle pace, it's entertaining, weird, funny, has adventure and romance, it's downright charming.